Large storage chests often used in the construction industry are typically formed of steel sheet. The floor and walls of the chest can be formed either from a single sheet of steel that is bent at intersecting edges of the walls and floor to form a box or from multiple pieces of sheet steel that are welded together into a box. Tools can then be stored within the cavity of the box. Typical sizes for such a chest can range from 2 ft.sup.3 to 8 ft.sup.3 or even larger.
Because it is often desirable for the chest to be at least somewhat portable, the walls may include pivoting carrying handles, which may be mounted to a straight wall or fold within a recess formed in the wall. Chests with recesses for the handles often include a shelf that is mounted upon the upper surfaces of the recess. Typically such a shelf is mounted to the rear wall as well as the recesses and extends forwardly a significant distance toward the front wall of the chest. One such chest is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,134 to Weger, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As described in Weger, a shelf welded directly onto the recess not only provides storage space for the chest, but also reinforces and "rigidities" the walls of the chest.
Of course, this configuration has at least two potential shortcomings. First, the permanent presence of the shelf precludes the storage of items in the rear portion of the chest that are taller than the distance between the floor of the chest and the shelf. Second, items that are stored beneath the shelf can be somewhat difficult to access, particularly if the shelf is at a height equal to or lower than the height of the front wall. As a result of these shortcomings, the usefulness of the storage space beneath the shelf can be somewhat limited.